Now, we know what you’re thinking. Go beyond digital? Many of us are just getting our feet wet in the digital home territory—how do we go beyond?
You may already know the answer. Digital technology is great, but when it comes to the full spectrum of intelligent home technology available to us, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Go Beyond Digital—Get Smart
Our everyday lives are quite a bit “smarter” than they used to be, aren’t they?
Remember the days when we had to operate our home lights, speakers, and alarms by hand? So do we—but those days are on their way out.
We used to have to adjust our home’s lights manually. Now, these same lights can be tied to motion-controlled smart sensors that modulate luminesce (and its associated home energy usage) automatically. The same applies to your thermostat, speaker systems, and home alarms. Heck, with the advent of personal assistants like Google Home or Alexa, we don’t even need to make internet searches anymore! All we have to do is express our desire and the technology responds.
This is the essence of what it means to have a “smart” home. It goes beyond mere digital connectivity and encompasses the entirety of the user experience. It’s becoming so ubiquitous in our culture that many of us are forgetting what it was like to go without it!
In one survey of smart technology owners, 70% agreed that enjoying one connected device made them more likely to buy another—which is likely why the global smart home market is projected to reach $53 billion by 2022. Once we get a taste of smart home living, it’s hard to go back—and no smart home option better exemplifies this higher standard of living than smart showers.
The Modern Smart Shower Experience
Smart technology is all about convenience, simplicity, and most of all, comfort. Naturally, the technology is the perfect fit for a luxurious shower experience.
As we’ve discussed, a truly integrated smart shower goes far beyond digital upgrades. Speakers, LED lights, touch screen displays; these digital tools can bring an incredible upgrade to your digital shower experience, but even with these tools, the shower isn’t smart. (Educated, maybe, but not smart!)
A true smart shower will bring your family of digital upgrades together and use them to create an experience that’s completely unique to you. For example, an integrated smart shower system will offer precision control over every aspect of your experience:
- Precision water volume control
- Temperature control
- Integration of steam (through specialized smart showerheads)
- Sound, light, and aromatherapy systems
- Remote control of all shower settings
With this list of functions in mind, it’s clear how we draw distinctions between a (relatively) ordinary digital shower and a true “smart” shower. A smart shower doesn’t just let you incorporate lights and sounds; it lets you create customized settings unique to your needs and apply those settings automatically, all for the benefit of your personal well-being.
Connectivity and Control
Of course, one of the defining features of smart technology is its connectivity with other systems, such as voice-controlled assistants. This is another aspect of what makes smart showers so much fun—you can set and enjoy any type of shower or steam experience based entirely on voice-activated commands.
With integration through, say, Amazon’s Alexa, you can automate many of the logistic details of your shower setup. For example, if you have delicate skin and prefer to keep your shower temperatures lower, you can simply say “Alexa, tell smart shower to turn on at 90 degrees” and the shower will respond. This type of control is impossible with old-fashioned showers, but it represents a new standard for home shower owners.
With just a few simple voice commands in the morning, you can turn your ordinary shower into a full-fledged in-home spa, complete with controlled water temperature, soothing chromatherapy lights, relaxing sounds, and more. It’s a system of control unlike any other.
Convenience, Resale Value, and Everything In Between
There’s a lot we could say about the benefits of smart, digital showers, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t bring up the resale value of these enhancements! As many as 81% of home buyers would be more apt to purchase a home if smart technology features were installed. That’s pretty impressive, considering that the primary benefits involve personal wellness, with resale value merely the icing on the cake.
But at the end of the day, there are a lot of different ways to look at the benefits of smart showers and of smart technology as a whole. Right now, the technology is still gaining steam—but as these options become more affordable and easier to integrate, they’ll become inseparable to our comfort at home.
